


one for the money

by tigermochaeyu



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1920s, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, But it's there, F/F, Speakeasies, not that violent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-02-05
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:48:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22575055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigermochaeyu/pseuds/tigermochaeyu
Summary: two for the show
Relationships: Kim Dahyun/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 2
Kudos: 33





	one for the money

**Author's Note:**

> https://alcapones.com/slang_dictionary.php  
> http://grembert0.tripod.com/id1.html
> 
> good luck :)

Chaeyoung had always preferred strolls at night. The city made less noise, save for the occasional breezer chugging its way down the streets or the gentle passerby that would offer a kind how-do-you-do before continuing onward down the sidewalks. The signs illuminate the ground at her feet, their light giving way to a magnificent sight before her, and she could enjoy a moment of peace in an otherwise busy life.

Unfortunately for her, however, this was not a night to be enjoyed. She was much too occupied with the business at hand, and much too impatient to desire dragging it on longer than necessary.

Tonight the once peaceful aura is filled with the sound of waves as they wash against the pillars beneath the dock, the fresh air and scent rushing in from Lake St. Clair filling her senses, but her focus remains on the periodic gurgling of water and pleas for mercy.

“Please please you gotta believe me I-” the man’s words are cut off abruptly as his head is pressed beneath the surface of the water once more. Chaeyoung watches from a small distance, patiently counts the seconds before his head resurfaces, gasping for air to fill his lungs while small fingers curl into his hair with purpose.

“The more you lie to us, the more trouble yous is gonna get yourself into, Donny,” Bora’s voice in itself is a taunt. Such a small girl holding so much power over a grown man is humiliating, especially in times like these. But Bora has always had an unnatural amount of strength and grace to her; it’s one of the main reasons Chaeyoung recruited her, why she keeps her so close. 

Kim Bora is a force to be reckoned with, a force that Chaeyoung commands.

“Just tell us who’s payin’ you to sell them _our_ hooch, Don. I ain’t got all night,” Chaeyoung sighs out uninterestedly, taking a drag of the cigarette from the long holder sitting between her fingers and letting the smoke pass smoothly through her nose. She truly hates the taste of the damn thing, but her impatience always brings out an itch for the nic’ in her veins. And right now she’s anything but patient.

Donghae, despite blatant warning from both girls, spits the water from his mouth and grunts out between gasps for breath, “I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’. Little girls shouldn’t be runnin’ mobs. S’a man’s job, it is.”

Bora and Chaeyoung share an exaggerated roll of eyes at his words before his head is pushed back beneath the surface of the water. Bora waits just a second or two longer than necessary before tugging him by the hair back into the air, listening to him gasp and watching water sop from his head and face back into the lake.

“We’re gonna do this one of two ways here, Donny,” Chaeyoung sighs out the last of the smoke from her cigarette, tossing the butt to the ground and pocketing her thin pipe. Bora watches her boss’s hand reemerge from her coat, fingers clasped around the telltale glint of a Smith and Wesson revolver. 

The spin of the cylinder is enough for Donghae’s muscles to stiffen, breath shaking as she loads a single 32-20 round bullet into one of the six chambers. She spins the cylinder once more before popping it back against the gate, and brings the tip of the barrel to rest on the back of his head. No one knows where the bullet ended up, and it strikes fear into Donghae’s entire being.

“You double crossed me ‘ere, Donny, bootleggin’ my booze to some other high hat wannabee. So either you tell me who yous is makin’ money off of with _my_ hooch,” Chaeyoung’s voice is quiet, calm, everything Donghae isn’t right now. “ _Or_ , I can take ya to Mei Qi. Let her pull _all_ the secrets right outta ya.”

Mei Qi’s name carries weight throughout the entire city. If you haven’t planned for a friendly visit and she arrives at your doorstep, you know you’re screwed beyond belief. Everyone knows her, and if you’re smart you fear her. It seems, in this instance, this is the smartest Donghae has been all night.

“Okay okay! I’ll talk, alright?” Donghae nearly cries, barrel still pressed against the back of his skull. “I-I sold your hooch to those Bangtan Boys in the inner city! They ain’t know it was yours and offered me a whole lotta dough. You know I been behind the eight ball a lot lately a-and-”

“Donny, Donny, _relax_ ,” Chaeyoung cuts him off with a faux reassuring tone, pulling the barrel of the gun only slightly away from his head. “Ya came clean like I asked, and now I know the honest truth.” Donghae seems to relax, breathing more even as he starts muttering out thank you’s.

“I won’t let you down again, boss, I swears it,” he promises.

“I know,” Chaeyoung hums, pulls the trigger of her revolver and idly wonders which chamber the bullet ended up in.

The deafening crack that rings through the night air, followed by the splash of water as Donghae’s body topples forward into the lake, tells Chaeyoung exactly where the bullet is now.

“Well,” Bora rises to her feet, dusting the dirt off of her hikers with a satisfied huff of air, “that sure was fun, wasn’ it?”

“If you wanna call losin’ money ‘cause of our greedy friend there ‘fun’,” Chaeyoung gestures to the body floating away slowly, “then I guess so. Unfortunately, now we need ourselves a new bootlegger.”

“Why can’t we gets a snake charmer?” Bora pouts, and Chaeyoung can’t help the laugh that passes through her lips. Bora grins at the other girl, pride filling her veins for making the stressed out mobster laugh. “Alright c’mon now. Who knows what could happen to a pretty broad like ya'self in the dark?”

“Yeah, ‘cause these threads really give me the helpless dish look, huh?” Chaeyoung laughs again, gesturing to the perfectly tailored, dark grey suit adorning her body, complete with the red handkerchief she uses to wipe her hands clean of unsavory business. 

“Maybe a quiff, if you ask me,” Bora jokes, laughs harder when Chaeyoung throws a punch at her shoulder in retaliation. Chaeyoung rolls her eyes at her big six-er as she pockets her gun, walking a different direction as she says, “Besides, I got business of my own to handle tonight. You head on back now without me.”

“Business, eh?” Bora teases with a wiggle of her eyebrows, laughing at the glare Chaeyoung sends her way. “I’ll drop it now, boss, but y’knows I can’t resist a good ol’ scandal. I’ll head on to the sisters’ pig for now while I awaits the next tale.”

“Don’t take any wooden nickels now, y’hear?” Chaeyoung warns Bora playfully, laughing when the woman flips her off with a smile before heading down the street. Chaeyoung sighs contentedly, mindlessly wonders if she should do something about Donghae’s body but knows from experience that the waves will either carry him out or down under by morning, and heads the opposite direction of Bora further into town.

-

Dahyun gets comfortable at her place behind the bar for the night. She's more at peace back here, easier for her to get a good idea about the patrons that come into her drum. People will talk to the unassuming bartender about anything and everything, and that's why she loves it. 

She watches over the place, eyeing a drugstore cowboy that looks like he's had a few too many losses tonight as he plops down at the bar. He looks like a boozehound in a jam, and Dahyun makes a note not to let him put down more than two mugs of hooch. 

"What'll it be?" She asks as she tidies up, rag rubbing the glass in her hand clean. 

"Cup of corn, please," the man grumbles under his breath. Dahyun nods, surprised he has any manners with how ragged he looks, and fills the bottom of the glass in hand with ice and bourbon. The man thanks her, chugging the glass in one go before scoffing to himself.

"Lemme tell you somethin', barmaid," his words are slurred, and Dahyun can smell the hooch on his breath. His thumb points over to towards the VIP area of the speakeasy, towards the members of the Bronze Eagle Crew. Dahyun can tell she's not gonna like where this is going. 

"That dish up there's nothing but a quiff, playing off like she's gots the guts to swing that rod around like a real big shot," he scoffs, clearly talking about the Bronze Eagle Crew's de facto leader, Jihyo.

"You better close your head there boy, before someone important hears ya," she warns, as though she's not one of the most important people in this entire speakeasy.

"No I gots rights to say what I wants to say!" he starts getting louder, more rambunctious. Dahyun shakes her head at the wall-eyed patsy. "That chippy up there just needs a proper cat to puts her in her place and give her a good-" 

Dahyun rolls her eyes at his absolute vulgarity and is about to call him out on his stupidity, when the door to the speakeasy slams opens and all of the patrons gasp, the music cutting and silence engulfing the room. 

-

Chaeyoung always loved to make an entrance. 

The look-out was shocked to see her standing there, even more so to hear that she knew the password to get in. And the way everyone had to stop everything for her as she entered was a rush of power she never gets over. 

Even if it isn't her speakeasy.

She watches the Bronze Eagle Crew all stand from their booth, watches Jihyo grab her gun from atop the table and walking towards her with purpose.

"Care to tell me what a Red Knuckle loser's is doing in my drum, Seonghwa?" She shouts past Chaeyoung to the look-out. 

"She knew the password, boss," he cowers, scared she'll point her pistol at his conk. She instead, however, laughs at this bit of information, and turns her rod towards Chaeyoung.

"And what's sayin' I won't fill you up with lead where you's is stand, high pillow?" Jihyo asks, pressing the barrel of the gun to Chaeyoung's gut.

"I've gots money to spend," Chaeyoung shrugs, not even phased by her rival gang leader's threat. "Plus you've taken too kindly to me to kill me."

Jihyo's eyes harden, and Chaeyoung can feel the collective breath everyone holds, the tension in the air thick enough to cut with a knife.

And then Jihyo laughs.

She laughs hard, sliding her gun into its holster against her hip, and pulling Chaeyoung into a tight embrace. "You's is damn right, and damn lucky too."

The music starts back up once the tense moment has ended, people going back about their business and enjoying their giggle juice, but there's one man louder than all of the noise. Chaeyoung traces the sound to the bar, watches as he rants and raves to her favorite barmaid. 

"-couldn't even drill another big shot! I'm telling ya, dames ain't cut out for mob work. S'a man's job, it is! I should call the heat on this place and take it for m'self once the buttons put 'em all in the can."

Chaeyoung wonders if she's gonna have to shoot another sap today, but the barmaid beats her to the fun, grabbing the man by the hair and slamming his head against the wood. She hears Jihyo beside her let out a quick hiss of phantom pain just from watching, and Chaeyoung smirks at the blood dripping from his forehead.

The barmaid lets out a sharp whistle, a couple droppers coming from a table and pulling the man from the bar and out the back to handle a bit of business with him.

Jihyo notices her staring, nudges Chaeyoung's arm with her elbow. "Go get 'er, before she dry-gulches any other payin' customers."

Chaeyoung chuckles lighthearted. "I'll let her know I found out who's been pennying our hooch. Enjoy your night Hyo."

Jihyo gives her a grin and a tip of her head before turning back to the crowd. "Sorry for the tussle folks, a round for everyone on me!" 

The joint erupts with cheers and the music seems to grow in volume with their excitement. Chaeyoung uses the commotion to slide into the seat where the previous man was, and the barmaid returns with a wet rag and bucket of water.

"Sorry for the mess, didn't think I'd be usin' the box to cool a bluenose today," she says, her grin peeking out at the corners of her lips.

"Better be careful miss, someone might see a mighty tough sheba like yourself and try to make a squeeze outta ya," Chaeyoung teases with a cocky smirk, the playful banter finally making the barmaid smile.

"They can sure try, but I'm already dizzy for someone else," the barmaid gives right back, pouring a glass of hooch for the mob boss and sliding it across the bartop. 

"He must be the cat's pajamas," Chaeyoung indulges the conversation as catches the glass and brings the liquor to her lips.

" _She_ sure is," the barmaid giggles.

Chaeyoung can't help but laugh back, setting the glass back against the wooden bar. "S'good to see ya, Dubs."

"Pleasure's all mine, Chae," Dahyun's grin is wide and fills the dark, smoky room with sunshine. "I heard y'gots some information for me?"

"We should probably scram out," Chaeyoung nudges her head towards the back of the speakeasy, where she knows the Bronze Eagle Crew does their more shady business. "Last thing we need is one of these highbinders to put the screws on us."

Dahyun nods, calls out to another bartender to man the box before the two of them head into the back rooms. 

It isn't long once they're alone before Chaeyoung has her back against a wall, Dahyun's lips hungrily pressed against her own. The mob boss sighs happily, hands clasped tight around Dahyun's perfect waist as she gives back just as much as Dahyun gives.

“Y’know,” Dahyun mutters against Chaeyoung’s lips, tearing the mob boss’s glad rags off of her as fast as her hands can move, “you’re already quite the looker, but watchin’ you be all confident sure gets a girl goin’.”

“Easy for you to say,” Chaeyoung’s lips move hungrily down Dahyun’s porcelain neck, reveling in the pretty sounds coming from her mouth. “Watchin’ you knock that bird’s head against the bar made me wanna take ya right there.”

“The high roller and the barmaid, how scandalous,” Dahyun giggles between breathy noises of pleasure, loving how Chaeyoung’s body is pressed against her in all the right places. She feels Chaeyoung laugh against her skin, can tell how hard it is for her to lean back and step away from her girl.

“You just love knowin’ that no one knows _you_ run this juice joint,” Chaeyoung teases with an easy grin, one that always makes Dahyun’s heart flutter a little in excitement. Her hair is a mess, suit coat thrown on the floor and button up tore open, revealing just enough skin to have Dahyun lean forward and take one or two more kisses from the kingpin.

“C’mon, ya lollygagger,” Chaeyoung teases as she takes a few steps back towards the large table at the center of the room. “We gots business, Red Knuckle to Bronze Eagle. And depending how good a deal you got for me, we can gets to talkin’ about some _other_ business later.”

Dahyun grins, the wicked grin of a woman in charge that makes Chaeyoung’s spine shiver with delight. “Alright, tell me about these dewdroppers takin’ our hooch.”

**Author's Note:**

> i have never used so much slang in my entire life i need to sit down
> 
> my ko-fi is Ko-fi.com/tigermochaeyu if anyone wants to support me and my work! since my actual job won't lmao
> 
> follow me on twitter @ tigermochaeyu and let me know your thoughts!


End file.
